Black Cat Track trekkers shocked by violent attack

By Joseph Dunstan

A group of Australian and New Zealand trekkers have been caught up in a deadly attack while walking the Black Cat Track in Papua New Guinea.
Two porters were hacked to death when robbers attacked the group as they walked the track on Tuesday.

Director of trekking company Kokoda Historical, David Howell, told ABC Radio Statewide Drive Victoria he has worked with one of the killed porters for several years.

'I was going about my morning routine and got a call, we actually have a trek going over the Kokoda Track at the moment.'

'I immediately called my contacts up in the Black Cat area and they informed me that one of those porters was a porter that I know very well and I used, and who accompanied me across the Black Cat Trail only several months ago, so very very sad news.'

Mr Howell said the attack on trekkers was unprecedented, and not something he would have imagined could ever happen on the track.

'This would have been the furthest thing from my mind, the last time I went up there.'

David Howell said he believed the violence may have been due to disagreements over which groups from the local area should be making money from the treks.

He said the porter he knew was a very accomplished tour guide whose success may have motivated a revenge attack from local groups who were not making money from the track.

'This chap was really, really good at being able to make contact, at being able to keep up with a mobile phone and call you in Australia...he was really a step above his peers in doing that, and I think that unfortunately has been his downfall.'

Warrnambool man Lex McRae walked the Black Cat Track earlier this year, retracing the path where his father fought during World War II.

'We're quite disturbed to think that some of the villagers we've met might have been involved in this, or even killed,' Mr McRae said.

'We felt quite safe on the track...our guide seemed to be welcomed, and there was a little social interaction every village we arrived at, and they traded betel nuts.'

Lex McRae said it was 'emotional' to walk the track, as he travelled with his daughter and a diary his father had left him, documenting his wartime experience.

'It's a beautiful country, it's amazing really, and it's just a pity that it's not more tourist friendly, that tourist infrastructure hasn't been developed.'